You're Not Real
by WolfMoonSinger
Summary: You're not real... you can't be... you died long ago... But then... why are you standing in front of me? / CANCELLED
1. Noises

Well, this is what I've been meaning to do for months, now... rewrite my first-ever fanfiction! The last one had no plot, and the writing sucked. This time, I've got more of a plot, but the writing will still suck... maybe not as much, though...

* * *

Deep within the Country of Wind, on the city limits of the Hidden Village of Waterfall, there sat a small, two-story house. Outside of it, three girls stood. One with deer brown hair, two with blonde-brown hair. They all talked, laughing and talking like best friends should, but that wasn't their whole story. For around their neck, arm and waist in one case, were dark blue headbands with metal attatched to their front. Ninja headbands. 

Somewhere, nearby the village...

The calls of birds rang throughout the lonely dirt path on which three ninja traveled. Who were these three ninja? After they had graduated from the ninja academy and had become a team, they were known as Squad Seven (Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, the old gang!).

"AW, MAAAAN! I'M HUNGRY!"

"Naruto, you just ate something five minutes ago!"

"So?"

"GAH! You're impossible!"

The old gang, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke, were going on their latest mission. This time, the first time they'd been on a mission with out their sensei, Kakashi. Their mission this time? ... ... ... Well, this time, their only orders were to go to the Hiddden Village of Waterfall and recieve more info about their mission. It was odd, but neither Naruto nor Sasuke cared. Naruto was happy to go on another mission. Sasuke... he was just being Sasuke... He didn't seem to care much about anything, really. Sakura, on the other hand...

"Hm... Don't you think it's fishy that we didn't recieve more information on our mission?" the pink haired girl asked her teammates.

"No." Naruto replied casually.

"Not really," came Sasuke's dull reply.

Sakura sighed and looked down. Not even the Inner Sakura had anything to say about the situation. Naruto pulled out a thermos of ramen that he had heated up before they had left and started to gulp it down. Before too long, the ramen was gone and the thermos was stashed away in his bag again. Silence reigned throughout another long, twenty minutes. Not even an arguing word came from Naruto to Sasuke or from Sakura to Naruto. The silence, to Sakura, seemed eerie. To Sasuke, however, it was a nice change from their daily life. The peace was relaxing to him... not that he let his guard down, oh no, never would he do that. It might cost him one of his teammates, the closest things to friends that he would allow... just like letting guard down had costed him his... but he didn't like to think about that. He felt the cold, smooth, square metal locket under his shirt. He took a drink from the canteen hanging from his belt, then returned it. His thoughts moved to what Sakura had just said.

"Maybe our purpose was kept a secret from us for a reason, Sakura," he finally said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed, quick on the uptake, "Maybe the some of the hidden waterfall ninja are, like, psychics, or something, and Lord Hokage didn't want 'em to find out about our mission!" Sakura whacked him on the head, like she always did.

"That's stupid Naruto! And anyway, any psychic you've ever heard of," she said, "Are all fakes!"

"Have you ever met a fake psychic, Sakura?" Sasuke asked coolly.

"Uh... well... not exactly..."

"HA!" Naruto shouted, pointing, "SEE? SEE? PSYCHICS ARE REAL!"

"I never said that, Naruto," Sasuke corrected, "I merely asked Sakura if she'd ever met a fake psychic."

"Why would you do something like that?"

"I was curious..."

That shut Naruto up. He looked around the forest. The sounds he had heard earlier, the ones he had taken for bird calls, sounded nothing like birds when he listened to them more closely. In fact, he'd never heard anything like them before.

"Y'know," he said, the smallest hint of fear in his voice, "This place is kind of creepy..."

"Naruto..." Sakura started to chid him about being scared of his own shadow, but he was paying absolutley no attention to her.

Something rustled in the bushes. Naruto stopped and turned around, where he thought he had heard the noise. The rest of his team stopped as well, but looked at him instead of the forest.

"What now, Naruto?" Sakura asked, annoyed.

"Didn't... Didn't you hear that?" he asked warily. The two shook their heads. "Neither of you heard that?"

"Naruto, you're just hearing things," Sasuke said calmly.

The raven-haired shinobi continued to walk, followed by Sakura, but Naruto stayed behind a moment longer. He was sure that he had heard something! Positive! He decided to keep walking, though, against his instinct to check out his surroundings. Another rustle. This time, Sasuke stopped and glance to his left.

"Did you see that?" he asked. Sakura didn't answer. She started slightly shaking.

"M-maybe... I-t was j-just a... sq-squirrel or something..." she stuttered, gripping her kunai tightly.

_'I don't think so,' _Sasuke thought.

In the dark camoflauge of the trees on the outskirts of the city, a figure sat crouched on one of the oak's branches. A small brown-cream-and-black animal, jumped into the tree and nudged her. It made a small noise (like what little Kilala does from InuYasha) and the figure smirked.

"So," she said, "Ninja from the Land of Fire, eh?"

The girl jumped out of the tree and headed towards the city, her furry companion riding on her shoulder. _"Lord Kazekage's gonna be thrilled about this!" _she thought sarcastically.

* * *

Well, this is the new Naruto story! New characters, new plot, new places, but this time, the story's more about Sasuke... a lot more about Sasuke... 

Yeah, I know, kind of short, but it should get longer in future chapters... I hope...

Kazekage- Wind Shadow


	2. Who the Hell?

The squad found themselves standing in front of a great, roaring waterfall. They hadn't expected this!

"Uh... what's with the waterfall?" Naruto asked, sitting in front of the mouth of the raoring water. He watched small coyfish swim around in the clear, blue pond. Sakura sighed.

"No idea..." she murmered. She probably would've known the answer outright... She just didn't want to think at the moment...

"The village is behind the waterfall," Sasuke said, "That's why they call it hidden waterfall..." Naruto started laughing nervously.

"Yeah... I knew that!" he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Loser," he muttered.

"_WHAT WAS THAT?" _Naruto yelled. Sakura smiled weakly.

_"Well, they're back to normal," _she thought, scratching the back of her head, "_Too bad that the peace didn't last too long..."_

She walked away from the bickering boys and ended up right in front of the waterfall. It roared in her ears, but she didn't mind. It was actually kind of nice. Sakura ran her hands through it, stopping the water from flowing for a few feet in the middle of it. She looked through the cleared way and gasped. It was a city, not unlike her own hometown. People were walking around, going about their everyday business. Some of them were wearing shinobi headbands.

_Thud!_

"Whaddya think yer doin'?" someone said next to Sakura.

The girl removed her hand from the water and turned. It was one of the Waterfall ninja! She was leaning against the side of the cliff, grinning stupidly. Sakura screamed out of suprise. Naruto and Sasuke's voices died away and were replaced with the sounds of running. The found their way behind the waterfall. The Waterfall Ninja turned her head sharply towards the boys, her brown hair flying into her face. She brushed it away and unsheathed her kunai.

"Who are you?" Naruto demanded. The girl twirled the kunai between her fingers.

"Who's askin'?" she said casually, looking up. She blinked and smiled like a dope.

"N-... Naru... _WHAT THE HELL'S YOUR DEAL_?" he yelled.

"Your name's Naru?" she inquired, "Hey, isn't that a girl's name? Well, I guess I shouldn't be talking, I mean, c'mon, my name's _Yue_, kind of an odd name-"

Naruto flushed. "_NO, MY NAME'S NARUTO, DAMMIT_!" he yelled. The waterfall girl- Yue, she had said- sighed and leaned against a rock.

"Look, I'm in deep enough shit as it is, and if I don't annihilate you right now..." she shivered, "I don't exactly want to think about it..." Yue stepped forward in a fighting position. "C'mon, I don't have all day, ya gonna fight or not?" she said impatiently.

"Sorry, not interested," Naruto muttered. They all had walked right passed Yue.

"_WHA-AT_?" she yelled, "_OH, COME ON! HUMOR ME_!" They kept walking. "Please?" she said in a higher voice. Kept walking... (WolfMoonSinger: Just keep walking! Just keep walking! Just keep walking, walking, walking!). Finally, Yue yelled out, "_KAIDA! MITSU_!" That stopped the three Leaf ninja in their tracks. They turned around and looked questioningly at the girl. Nothing happened, only the sounds of the wind blowing through the trees.

_"Hiya!"_ someone said softly in Naruto's ear. He jumped and yelled, looking around for the perpetrator.

"Who... who the-?"

Yue sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Mitsu," she said flatly, "I know you're there." The same voice giggled.

"_Aw, you're no fun, Yue!_"

A girl- presumably Mitsu- shimmered into sight right behind Naruto. He jumped and yelled again, but Mitsu just laughed at him. She pushed her way through the squad and made her way over to Yue. "Kai-chan's on her way!"

"No need, Mistu, I'm already here," said another bored girl.

She jumped down from a tree, holding up a little, furry animal by it's tail. It was almost a mix of a chihuaha, a squirrel and a fox. Actually, it was a squirrelfox. He had a creamy, fluffy ruff around his neack, long ears ending in black tufts, black stripes on his doe-brown fur and a really long, very bushy tail, tipped in cream. The squirrelfox was squealing. Kaida looked directly at Yue. "Yue, I found this furry thing of yours wandering around the streets of the village." She threw the squirrelfox at the said konoichi.

"Hey!" she shouted in protest, catching the animal, "Can you at least _try _to be nice to Kiko?" Kaida rolled her eyes.

"Whatever."

Yue untangled Kiko's paw from a silver locket around her neck. Sasuke saw it... It looked familiar to him... almos like- wait, no, absolutely identical- to the one he wore around his own neck.

"We're wasting our time," Sasuke muttered, brushing off the thought, "I'm going to the stupid village..." In an instant, Yue showed up right in front of Sasuke.

"Sorry, but, uh... I think the right line here is... over my dead body!" she said happily, grinning, putting Kiko down. The squirrel fox trotted over to Mitsu and rubbed against her leg.. Just as fast as she appeared, Sasuke ended up behind Yue with his kunai to her throat.

"Now, were you being serious?" he asked. He thought about demanding where she had gotten that locket, demand what was in it. The girl looked so... familiar... like-

"Uh, maybe..." she said. She signed something with her hands, Sasuke heard a whispered word, then he felt the full force of a tornado beat against him and knock him over, sending him sprawling across the ground. "But," Yue said, smiling, "That may not be necessary..."

"_Sasuke!" _Sakura yelled after him (as she usually did...).

Sasuke sprang back up, brushing some dust off of his shoulder. "Heh, that's a nice trick," he said, laughing, "Here's one of mine-"

He started signing for his own jutsu, a personal favorite: Great Fireballl Technique. Mitsu looked shocked. "Oh, shit..." she muttered.

"What?" Yue asked.

"_Fire Style!"_ Sasuke yelled. He put his hand in front of his mouth and blew. Out came a large stream of fire, straight at Yue. The fire hit her, dead-on. Naruto watched as the girl was dicintegrated in the flames. When the fire cleared-

"Whoo! That's some hot stuff, fire!" Yue said. Sasuke looked up. She was crouching down in a tree branch, grining. He looked back at where he thought he saw her turn to ash; Charred chunks of wood. "Isn't substitution a helpful art to know?" she asked.

Sasuke wasted no time talking. He threw multiple shuriken and kunai at her. She dodged most of them, but there was the sound of metal scraping against metal, then a snap. Yue watched, horrified, as her locket fell free from her neck, two yards in front of her. She didn't even care that a small jet of blood shot out along with the knife. She looked scared, then furious.

"**_Damn you!_**" she yelled.

She made the signs of the bird and the dragon and, without saying a word, she released a chakra-packed attack that made the ground explode right under Sasuke's feet, flinging him back... again, but, hey, this time he landed on his feet! Dust flared up everywhere, shrouding Sasuke's eyesight. He coughed, shut his eyes, lost sight of Yue. He opened his eyes, but he could still only see the dust. Then, a fist came flying out of the cloud and collided with the side of his face. And again, a fist- or was it a foot... a knee, perhaps- hit the other side of his face, then his stomach.

_(Kaida and Mitsu's Commentary)_

"Well, if it gets the mission done and over with..."

"No kidding..."

"Why are we here again?"

"No idea."

"What did you have for breakfast this morning?"

"None of your business."

_(Back to Sasuke)_

The dust cleared and Sasuke saw to whom the fist belonged. Yue (who else...?). She kept using taijutsu left and right, so Sasuke decided in a second to go along with it.

"_DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH MY LOCKET AGAIN, YA HEAR?" _she yelled at him. She kneed him in the stomach.

Sasuke saw something flash in her hand. The broken locket. What she didn't seem to notice, he registered, was that it was open. Yue pulled her fist back and flung it forward, but Sasuke caught her wrist. He looked at the inside of it. It twisted back and forth from the momentum, showing the inside and the outside. The outside showed an inscription. On the inside, there was a picture. Two eight-year old kids. Sasuke... and the girl. Yue. She looked at Sasuke, half angry and half shocked.

"Who the hell are you?" they both asked at the same time.


	3. Flashbacks

WolfMoonSinger: Well, I've been putting this off for a while... but I guess I can't any longer, really... (sarcasm) Oh, and don't you just love the new segment, Kaida and Mitsu's Commentary? So wonderful, it is... (I don't own anything, except for Kiko, Kaida, Yue and Mitsu... And my plot...)

* * *

Sasuke released his grip on Yue's wrist and backed away. Yue did likewise. Mitsu put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Yue?" she asked, "Is something wrong...?"

"What the hell?" Sasuke muttered.

_'I thought you were dead... wait, no you are dead! You're not real, you can't be, it's not possible!' _he thought frantically, '_You died, he killed you! You're not real, you're NOT!"_

_"Then why does she look like her? Why does she have the same name? Why is that picture in a locket identical to yours?" _a voice in the back of his head said back.

"Did you not see the picture, Mitsu?" Yue answered in a low, flat voice.

"Uhh..."

She thrusted it into Mitsu's hand and fumed. Mitsu looked down at the open locket and at the picture. "Um, alright..." she muttered. This was way over her head, so she chose to stay out of it... for the time being, that is. Yue snatched the locket back and stormed off past the waterfall and into the village. Kiko ran after his mistress like he always did... unless there was a red hot pepper in front of him... Kaida rolled her eyes.

"Drama queen," she muttered (refering to Yue). Mitsu giggled nervously.

_(Kaida and Mitsu's Commentary)_

"Well, she is! She's a drama queen!"

"You just figured that out?"

"_I heard that_!" Yue yelled from backstage.

"_Well, you are, you are an over-emotional drama queen!" _Kaida yelled back.

(_Back to the Story)_

"Who the hell is this?"

"Watch your tongue, young lady!"

"Dad, why is this boy in the picture with me?"

"I have no idea, Yue!"

Yue and her father, Takara Ibaro, were "debating" in their house about Sasuke and the locket.

"What is more important to me, and what should be most important to you," Takara said sharply, "Is the fact that you didn't complete your mission!"

"Dad," Yue protested wearily, "Mitsu and Kaida are taking care of it. They're much better at negotiating than I am."

Yue walked back to her room and shut the sliding door in her father's face. She slammed the open locket down on her desk and threw her shuriken into the wall.

"Well," Takara muttered to himself, "She's got a point about negotioating..."

(_Sasuke_)

He put one finger on the cold metal and focused his chakra onto a point where his locket met his finger. It popped open. Sasuke pulled it even farther so he could look at the picture that had become so familiar to his eyes. Himself... and her. His sister. His twin sister. Yue. He never found out what had happened to her, that day five years ago. All he could remember of it was coming home, with no one around, and blood all over the floor. And the bodies... all of those bodies... After that, he had hid in his closet, crying... That was the only time he had ever cried. Sasuke had never seen Yue alive or dead again. He assumed she was dead. He had convinced himself that she was dead and that he would never see her ever again. Since then, h esubmerged himself in his ninja studies and only thought about her when he felt the locket hanging from his neck.

Looking at the picture again, Sasuke convinced himself that this girl was just someone who happened to look like his sister. There was no way they could be the same person. He closed his eyes.

_Everyone else had left already, but Sasuke was still throwing shuriken at the tree. The sun was already setting. Yue was sitting nearby, impatiently watching._

_"Come on, Kay-chan!" she called, frowning, "Can we just go home?" Sasuke kept throwing shuriken at his target._

_"Just a little while longer, Yue!" he said. She sat her chin in her hands and huffed. She'd give him five more minutes. Even when that time had ellapsed, Sasuke was still going at it._

_"I'm going home, now, Kay-chan!" she said. Sasuke heard her get up and leave. He looked back and saw her. Her bag was slung around her shoulder, in which he knew she carried her toy shuriken. The one he had made for her out of wood._

_"See ya later!" he yelled._

_By the time he started for home, it was well past dark. He was running home, thinking, "I stayed out really late! I hope mom won't be mad at me!" He turned a corner that led to the Uchiha estate. The lights were all out._

_"That's weird," he said to himself, "The lights are all out. It isn't time for sleep, yet."_

_He walked into the estate. There was no one around, not his aunt or uncle, his brother, his parents or anyone else in his family. He would've thought that Yue'd be waiting for him at the gate, at least. He turned another corner and the sight that met his eyes was unpleasant. The decorations he had watched people put up earlier were slashed apart, signs ripped off. Drops of blood were all over the ground. As he walked deeper into the estate, he saw the bodies of his aunt and uncle. The people he had talked to just before he left for school with his sister that day. He started running. More blood and a few other bodies. Then, he swung the door of his house open and slammed it shut. It was empty._

_"Mother?" he called, "Father?" No answer. He walked down the hall and opened the door to Yue's room. She wasn't there either. He walked outside and found the door to his parent's room. He stopped in front of it, shaking, scared of what he might find._

_"Move..." he told himself, "Move! Come on, Sasuke..." His hand reached for the handle. "MOVE!" He opened it. His mother, Mikoto, was lying on top of Sasuke's father. They were both dead and in a puddle of blood. Someone stepped out of the shadows. Sasuke took a step back, staring terrified at the figure. Then, their face came into full-view._

_Uchiha Itachi._

Sasuke gritted his teeth and clenched his fists around the locket, closing it again. He could still hear his brother's voice in his head.

_"Hate me... Detest me... Run, run and cling to life..."_

"I _do_ hate you," he whispered, "I _do_ detest you... I _will kill you_, Itachi!"

Sakura was chatting away with Mitsu, trying to negotiate their way into the village. Naruto wasn't doing anything to help, he was just being a nuissance, as always.

"Here," Sakura said, holding out her ID, "We've got permission to enter."

"YOU JUST PULL THAT OUT NOW?" Naruto yelled.

"Well, hey, that works..." Mitsu muttered taking a closer look at Sakura's ID. "Haruno Sakura, Leaf Village Genin, currently on a mission. Okay!"

Naruto crouched down next to Sasuke and started poking him. "Sasuke..." No answer. The boy was too lost in his own thoughts to notice anything else around him. "Sasuke... Saaaaasuukkeeeee..." Then, Naurto did something he usually didn't dare to do. He poked Sasuke, grinned and sang, "Kay-chaaaaaaan!"

_"Come on, Kay-chan, can't we just go home? ...I'm going home, now, Kay-chan!"_

Sasuke snapped his head up and looked ahead wildly. "Yun-chan?" he asked hoarsely. Naruto cocked his head to the side.

"Yun-chan?" he asked, "Who's that?" Sasuke turned red when he realized that it was Naruto who called him by his childhood name.

"What is it, Naruto?" he growled. Naruto smiled like a fox.

"Come ooonnnn!" he whined, "Let's go already!"

_(Yue)_

_"I... I remember... a voice..." _she thouht, _"Who's is it? I... don't know where I've heard it before..."_

_"Yun-chan!"_

_"Who is it?"_

_"Why does nii-san always treat me like a nuissance?"_

_"Who the hell is it?"_

She slammed her head on the desk and growled.

_"What's wrong with me? Why am I hearing all of these voices...?"_

She saw a mental image that played like a film strip. It was a little, brown-hair girl, sitting on a futon. There were tears streaming down her face. Behind her, a boy was braiding her hair and twisting it, then tied it back with a white ribbon. He had long, black hair of his own that went down to his elbows. He was saying something softly to the little girl, but what it was, Yue couldn't tell. All she could hear was how gentle and deep the boy's voice was.

_"Who's that? Who are those two? Why... Why do I see them?"_

The boy combed the braids out of the girl's hair, ruffled it and walked out of the room. The girl turned her head. This time, Yue could understand what she was saying.

_"Itachi-nii... arigato..."_

Yue snapped out of her thoughts with a small gasp. It was vivid, intense, a lot more to handle than many missions she'd handled. She felt like she'd run two miles then used taijutsu for about another hour on a B-ranked mission.

"What... the hell..."

_(Sasuke)_

_"That girl is hyper... Even worse than Naruto..."_ Sasuke thought, looking at Mitsu. She was skipping ahead of them with a wide grin on her face. Kaida was walking next to Sakura, looking pointedly away from Mitsu, muttering.

"I don't know her, I don't know her, I don't know her..."

Sasuke sighed. Of all the ninja in the village who were guarding the gates, they had to get stuck with these mental, hyper, psychos! Not to mention they had to get caught by the drama queen of the group. What a mission this was turning out to be! Now if Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke only knew what their mission was...

* * *

WolfMoonSinger: Again, short, I know! I'm sorry! It's probably going to be like that for a while. 


	4. Promise

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Never have, never will, sadly... Oh, and the song Yue starts singing is Promise, sung by Melissa Fahn, the voice actor of Rika Nonaka from Digimon Tamers (a.k.a. Digital Monsters Season Three).

Warning: OOCness for Sasuke! Just a bit!

* * *

"DO I LOOK LIKE A DELIVERY BOY TO YOU?" Naruto yelled. Iyami rolled her eyes.

"No, you look like a genin to me," she said, "And your mission is to deliver the scroll to Kumogakure, the village hidden in the clouds!"

"That's our big secret mission?" Naruto shouted again, "Deliver a stinkin' scroll?" Iyami folded her arms over her chest.

"Hey, it's a very important scroll!" she said indignantly.

"What's it do, summon a bunch of girly fairies?" Naruto muttered. Sakura whacked him on the head with the back of her hand.

"Cut it out, Naruto!" she yelled.

He slouched back with a dark look on his face, swearing at Sakura under his breath. For once, Sasuke wasn't thinking or paying any attention to the mission. He was still only thinking of that konoichi, Yue.

A few more squirrelfoxes were coming out of nowhere and sniffing Squad 7. Sakura crouched down to pet one of them.

"I'd be careful if I were you," Iyami warned, "They breathe fire." Sakura's hand shot back and she jumped up.

"Th-they b-b-breathe _f-fire?"_ she squeaked. Iyami beamed.

"Yep!" Sakura fell over and started twitching.

"S-Sakura?" Naruto asked, "Are... Are you alright?" The little animals started nudging her, squeaking.

"FIRE BREATHING SQUIRRELFOXES!" she yelled, sitting up.

Some younger kids were running by- a boy and a girl, both about five or six. The little girl seemed a bit angry at the boy to Sasuke, judging from what they were saying. The girl yelled at the boy.

"Hey! You promised me-!"

_"Promise me we'll stay for the sunset... And when the moon shines through the darkness..."_

Sasuke tried to ignore the voice in his head, the one that was laughing and singing, but it just wouldn't go away. He didn't want to think about it... Ever... But the song was still in his head.

_"We can find the path that leads us home, and on the way you'll... maybe... sing me a song..."_

"Tonight..."

"Uh, Sakura..." Naruto whispered. She glanced his way.

"Yeah, Naruto?"

"Sasuke's starting to scare me..." he said, "He was just singing to himself out _nowhere!_ You think he's going insane?"

**WHACK!**

"I HEARD THAT, NARUTO!" Sasuke yelled, his fist still in the air, "I AM NOT GOING INSANE, DAMMIT!" He lowered his arm, breathing heavily. He said he was still sane, but still, he thought, _"Am I sure that I'm not insane?"_

Simultaneously, Sasuke and Yue, no matter where they were or how far away from each other, started twisting their lockets around their fingers.

_(Yue)_

Yue was then outside, in the local park, sitting on a swing. The kids had left long ago. Many of the parents still didn't trust her. After all, she was still an outsider. She started nudging the ground with her feet, pushing herself forward and back by a few inches, looking at her feet.

"Promise that we'll stay for the sunset," a small voice sang. Yue looked to her right. She had to be hallucinating; The little girl she had seen before, in her mind, the one in her locket, was sitting there on the other swing, looking forward. She didn't seem to notice anything else around her. "And when the moon shines through the darkness-"

"We can find the path that leads us home," Yue joined in, "And on the way you'll... maybe... sing me a song."

The little girl disappeared and Yue found herself singing with birds backing her up.

"_Promise that you always will be there._

_Hold my hand, if ever I'm real scared._

_Help me stand up tall if I fall down,_

_Make me laugh away all my bluest days._

_How could you promise you always would be there?_

_Why'd you have to go away somewhere?_

_Every morning into every night,_

_Do you watch over me like the sun in the sky?_

_Am I all alone or standing in your light?_

_I wish that I could... maybe... sing you a song..._

_Tonight..._

_You promised me we'd stay for the sunset..."_

"Yue?"

She turned her head, turning a deep red, embarassed that someone- Actually, Mitsu- had caught her singing- She didn't even sing to begin with.

"Uh... H-hey, Mitsy!" she said, laughing nervously, "Wh-what brings you here?" Mitsu gave her a look that said, "You dipstick!"

"Hm, let's see..." she said sarcastically, "I might just live here!" (A/N: No, Mitsu doesn't live IN the park, her family lives just across the street, really...). She sat down next to Yue on the swing that was occupied by the little ghost-like girl and looked at Yue (who was still looking forward). "So... we got the situation with the Leaf ninja worked out."

"Hn."

"It's getting dark. Isn't Takara-san gonna be worried?"

"Hn."

"... ... ... ... Aichi-chan put beer in her cake!"

"Hn."

_"Man!"_ Mitsu thought, raising an eyebrow, "_I thought that one would get her!"_

"Uh... Oh! Yeah! There was something I wanted to tell you..."

"Hn."

"Someone was looking for you... Oh, who was it?"

Yue glanced at Mitsu without grunting or saying anything at all.

"Oh! Yeah! It was Itachi-ku-"

Before she could finish, Yue had jumped up and raced off towards the waterfall, where she and Itachi had always met.

Itachi... He was the mysterious man that Yue had known for as long as she could remember. He never wore a headband, so Yue was never sure if he was a ninja or even where he was from. He was always so... calm, so polite and gentle. He came and he went without warning. By now, Yue and her friends were used to it. And at that moment, Yue didn't want to deal with anyone else _but _Itachi.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, I should've mentioned this before: Itachi is usually out of character if he's in the same scene as Yue. Oh, and Yue's a nickname, her full name is Yusuki... But, everyone just calls her Yue... You know, I bet that'd get kind of confusing, always saying "Hey, Yue!" and some random person would just turn around and say "What?" Yeah... me and my friends have fun with that... 


	5. Itachi's Story

A/N: Why Itachi calls Yue "Yusuki" (pronounced YOO suh kee... A friend of mine and I had a debate about how to pronounce her name) ... ... Well, Yue's just a nickname, her full name actually is Yusuki and with Itachi being himself and all... He always calls her "Ms. Yusuki (Yusuki-san)". He's also why Yue usually adds the suffix "san" to the end of almost everyone's names, unless they're her teammates or someone else who's really close. And, oh yeah... OOCness on the Uchiha bros.' parts... /nods/ Ye-up!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did... NaruxLee and SasuxHina pairings!

* * *

Itachi. He had never given her a last name, nor a village. If she ever asked, he'd just change the subject. As long as she could remember, Itachi had been there every now and then, just there for a day or two to talk, to catch up. He was nineteen, at least, that's what Yue had always assumed. He was always so... Well... He was something else. There was some kind of connection, but Yue could never place what that connection quite was. His visits were rare, maybe once every eight months at the most. It had been a year since he had last come to see her.

Today was no different from any other day Itachi had come to call. He was waiting there for her, just standing with his back to the waterfall. Yue jumped off a rock and landed about five yards behind him, panting, with Kiko right next to her.

"I... tachi... san..." she breathed. He turned around without any emotion on his face; That was usual as well. Yue smiled.

"Ms. Yusuki," he muttered, nodding. Yue's breathing eased up a bit. The use of her full name... He was the only one who ever used it. Not even her dad, Takara, used "Yusuki," no one ever did... Much less did they use "Ms."

"H-hello... Itachi-san..." she said, breathing easy.

"You look taller," he commented. Yue laughed.

"How could that be?" she asked sarcastically, "It's only been a year since you last saw me." She was about five feet tall. Itachi was seven inches taller and she had to crane her neck to look him in the eye. Of course, everyone she knew was taller than her, one way or the other. Except for that blonde Leaf ninja. He was a pipsqueak (no offense to anyone shorter than Naruto).

"I'm sorry I could not see you sooner."

"Oh, that's alright!" Yue said, walking around a bit, looking at the forest. A few squirrelfoxes were playing around in the trees and that made her laugh.

"I'm not staying long," he said, "Just for a few minutes or so..." That made Yue's grin fade when she turned around.

"But, Itachi-san!" Yue said sadly, "You just got here!" Kiko squeaked at him.

Itachi looked at her with the ghost of a sad smile on his face.

"Really, Ms. Yusuki," he said again, "I must be leaving soon. I'm sorry."

_(SASUKE)_

Sasuke looked at the piece of paper in his hand, then at the door. This was the right address... But what if it wans't? Oh, well, he'd just have to take that chance, wouldn't he? He knocked on the door. A tall, black-haired man opened it, looking down at Sasuke with slate-blue eyes (This would be Takara Ibaro, Yue's "Dad").

"Yes?" he asked.

"Uh... Yeah..." How was he supposed to say this? "Is... Yue home?" Takara looked suprised. He hadn't met this kid. Was he a new friend of Yue's?

"Sorry, no, she's not..." he said slowly, studying Sasuke- the boy was from Konohagakure, "I have no idea where she is... Why don't you go ask her friend, Mitsu? You know, short, blonde-haired, really hyper-?"

"Yeah, we've met," Sasuke muttered. He turned around and said softly, "Arigato," then walked off. Takara watched him leave, scratching the back of his head.

"What kind of friends are my daughter making?" he said, walking back inside and shutting the door.

_(YUE AND ITACHI)_

"Sayonara," Itachi said in his soft voice, walking back down the road.

"Wait!" Yue called. Yue ran up to him and grabbed his wrist. He stopped but didn't say anything. Yue smiled and started singing to him.

_"Promise that you'll stay for the sunset,_

_And when the moon shines through the darkness..."_

Something in Itachi's mind clicked as Yue continued her song. She remembered it. The words were a bit different, but that was the song, nonetheless. What else did she remember? Her friends, her family, Konohagakure... Sasuke? Had she ever realized that if her hair and eyes were black, she'd look like Itachi's miniature. His eyes flicked to her hairband- It was the white one he left her with years ago, the white one that used to be his favorite... And she still wore it. Now, he tied his hair back with a dark red ribbon. Then there was that locket around her neck, the reason he had argued with his mother. The silver chain looked about two inches shorter than it had been when Yue was 7. Did she even remembered how to open the locket?

"What was that?" he asked quietly.

"It's a song I started to sing earlier," she said, still grinning, "Do ya like it?" Kiko jumped onto her shoulder.

She still reminded him so much of the Yue he had known in Konohagakure. So free and full of emotion... He looked at her and saw the little girl.

_(ITACHI'S MEMORY)_

_Itachi walked into his room and saw someone curled up on his futon: His little sister. He knelt down next to her and shook her shoulder gently. She rolled over and opened her eyes. They were so different from his own, silver, large and wondering. So... pretty._

_"Itachi-nii?" she said groggily._

_"Why aren't you back in your room?" he asked softly._

_"Uh... No reason..." she said. He could tell she was lying._

_"What is it?"_

_"Sasuke-chan was snoring again!"_

_"And you could hear him all the way from your room?"_

_"Yeah..."_

_Itachi gave in and let her sleep on his futon. Leaning against a wall, his head drooped onto his chest, his black eyes shut. He was about to dose off when-_

_"Itachi-nii?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"I... I can't sleep..."_

_Itachi sighed. "Yeah, and what do you want me to do about it?"_

_"Can you sing me Promise?"_

_"Fine..."_

_"I promise we can stay for the sunset._

_And when the moon shines through the darkness_

_We can find the path that leads us home,_

_And on the way I'll... maybe... sing you a song-_

_I promise that I always will be there,_

_I'l hold your hand if ever you're real scared._

_I'll help you stand up tall if you fall down,_

_And make you laugh away all your bluest days..._

_I promise we can stay for the sunset..."_

_He looked over at Yue. She was sound asleep on her side with her mouth hanging slightly open. Itachi never understood why she always fell asleep whenever he'd sing that song. It's not like he could sing too well. His mother, Mikoto, was so much better, yet Yue insisted that he was to sing it for her. He never really wanted to, but... somehow he would anyway._

"Itachi?"

Itachi snapped back to reality. He must have been spacing out. He yelled at himself mentally to not do that.

"Are you sure you can't stay longer?" Yue asked, pulling down on his arm.

He turned around and held out two fingers, poking her in the forehead and knocking her back slightly.

"Forgive me, Ms. Yusuki," he said. He started off again when a familiar male voice sounded.

"Uchiha Itachi!" it growled.

Itachi turned around; It was Sasuke, looking furious. Yue lookwed between the two boys, suprised.

"Y-you two... kn-know each other?" she asked, startled.

"So," Itachi started, "I assume you've met my little brother, Sasuke?" Yue gaped.

"YOU'RE BROTHERS?" she yelled.

"You are no brother of mine!" Sasuke yelled, "I'm going to kill you!" Itachi smirked.

"Do you remember the last time you said that?" he asked Sasuke, "I beat you to within an inch of your life. You couldn't even touch me."

Sasuke had nothing to say about that. Yue was still trying to let everything register, but nothing would click. Then again... Sasuke and Itachi did look a lot alike... She could believe that they were brothers. But what was with all the talk about killing Itachi? Before she knew it, the two boys were fighting with each other. Itachi slammed Sasuke against a tree, smirking.

"What?" he whispered so that only Sasuke could hear him, "Are you jealous that she looks just like me?"

"Shut UP!" Sasuke growled, pushing him away.

Itachi just laughed and Yue was amazed: He wasn't usually like this. In fact, he wasn't _ever_ like this. What was going on? What were they saying to each other that was making Sasuke so angry and Itachi so... so... sadistic? He was beating Sasuke so bad, and poor Sasuke... he tried his best to fight back. Both pairs of their eyes were red with black pupils and black wheels spinning around them. Sasuke could barely touch Itachi. Finally, Sasuke gathered his chakra into his hand, forming a blue ball of light, like wild electricity. He ran at Itachi with the light dragging along the ground, tearing up the dirt road. Itachi side-stepped out of the way as Sasuke released his attack: The Chidori. Itachi, much less Sasuke who was blinded by rage, knew that Yue was right behind him. She put her arms in front of her face in an X and took the Chidori, yelling and wincing in pain. It tore her arms up and apart, leaving cuts on her stomach and her cheeks and causing Kiko to fly off her shoulder. Blood was starting to stream down her face, but she just looked sad and scared of Itachi. Sasuke, realizing what had happened (finally) stepped forward.

"Yue!" he yelled, "A-are you al-"

"I... tachi... san...?" she said. Again, this was waaaaay over her head.

(_KAIDA AND MISTU'S COMMENTARY)_

"What's with the Itachi complex?"

"Oh, come on, Kaida! Don't tell me you haven't figured it out, yet?"

"No, I haven't, and I doubt the readers get it either. I'm suprised you understand it."

"Yep! ... HEY, WAIT A MINUTE!"

(_BACK TO THE STORY)_

Her voice was getting high and her arms fell to her sides, limp and bleeding heavily. Mitsu walked out past the waterfall and started talking.

"Hey, guys, what's u- OH MY GOD!"

She stared at Yue's injuries, shocked. Her mouth was open, but no words were coming out.

"I think it's best I leave..." Itachi muttered, striding past Sasuke, who just glared at him.

"Oh, so you'll abandon your little sister again?" he snapped aloud. Mitsu and Yue turned their attention to the boys. What had they just said? Itachi stopped, but he didn't answer.

"Little... sister?" Yue asked, hoarse, "Wh-who's your... little... sister?"

"Yeah, you heard me, Yue!" Sasuke shouted, "You're his little sister, you're my twin!" Yue looked from Itachi to Sasuke, then back to Itachi. Sasuke continued with his rant. "Yeah! He kills our parents, our entire famliy, actually, then you go and disappear, leaving me all alone, thinking you were dead!"

The lack of blood was starting to get to Yue. Everything was starting to fade and get dark, and her mind was drawing a blank. All she heard was "kill", "alone", and "dead". She looked up at Itachi again, sad.

_"How could you promise you always would be there..." _she whispered, "_Why'd you have to go away somewhere?"_

He had always watched over her, but it seemed like she was alone. When they were younger, still a family, she was always standing in his light, always under his wing, leaving Sasuke alone and in his shadow. Suprisingly enough, though, that had never left Sasuke with a sense of hate or jealousy towards Yue, no, never. It had only left him jealous of and hating Itachi for being so cool, for being a child prodigy, for being the one Yue had always loved the most.

Mitsu had caught Yue before she completely passed out on the ground, getting blood everywhere.

"What's going on, here?" Mitsu cried out.

"Go on, Itachi!" Sasuke yelled, "Tell them the whole story! I'd like to hear it for myself!"

"I would too!" Mistu yelled sarcastically, "But my best friend's bleedin' to death over here, so how about later?" Itachi and Sasuke nodded. The younger brother slung one of Yue's arms around his neck to help her walk and went through the gate. Itachi stayed behind, watching them go, but then Sasuke stopped and glared at his nii-san.

"Are you coming or not, you stupid good-for-absolutely-nothing?" he spat.

Itachi returned the cold glare, walked over to Kiko, picked him up and followed, but not because Sasuke told him to. It was because even though he didn't show it, he was pissed at Sasuke for hurting his twin sister like that. He also thought that Yue would need her best friend, her pet squirrelfox, next to her when she woke up. The four of them entered the village. The two jounin that were standing watch behind the gate, Arka and Keibi, snapped their heads up at Mitsu. Keibi jumped in front of the desk he was sitting at and landed in front of the blonde, who was uncharacteristically glaring straight ahead of her.

"Keibi-san," she said coldly, "Where's Aiako-sama?"

The green-haired jounin looked a little puzzled for a moment, then said, "With Shibuki-sama, they're at the private Hero Water vault in Shibuki-sama's office, wh-?"

"_The fabled Hero Water?" _Itachi thought. _"This mission will be easier than I thought..."_

"Oh, great, she's with that damn cowardly bastard!" Mitsu muttered to herself, cutting Keibi off, "Arigato, Keibi-san." She walked off as Keibi waved slightly, calling "No problem!"

Keibi sat back down next to Arka, who was just staring at the four shinobi who just passed with his usual, emotionless, uncaring face. "What was that about?" he said, sounding like Nara Shikamaru.

"I have no idea..." Keibi muttered.

Mitsu, Sasuke and Itachi finally found Shibuki. Talking with him was a woman.

"I'd like to study this a bit more, Shibuki-sama, but right now, you have company," the woman said. She turned to Mitsu and smiled kindly. "What seems to be the problem, Mitsu-chan?" She looked down at Yue, who was still passed out. Luckily, the bleeding had eased up... then again, that could've been bad and coudl've meant that there was hardly any blood left in her.

"Please, Aiako-sama," Mitsu cried out, "It's Yue-"

"Oh, my, what happened to her?" Aiako asked.

"It's a jutsu called the Chidori," Sasuke explained, "An A-rank attack that is a very large, concentrated amount of chakra."

"How large, exactly?" Aiako asked the boy.

"Roughly the size of a football, completely visible."

"Oh..." Aiako said slowly, looking dead-serious.

"'Oh'?" Mitsu asked, freaking out, "What's 'Oh' mean?"

"Did it hit her directly?" Aiako asked, pulling out a roll of bandages from the pouch around her waist.

"Dead in the stomach," Itachi said quietly, "And if she hadn't have covered her face with her arms, her eyes would've been blown out of her head."

"Oh, thanks for the visual, Itachi!" Mitsu said, disgusted.

"Any time..."

Aiako took Yue and dragged her over to the wall, sitting her there. Kneeling on the floor, she took Yusuki's "armsocks" (which were basically just a longer version of Sasuke's) off and bandaged the girl's arms up. Shibuki nervously watched Itachi, who was eyeing the Hero Water vault. What was he thinking about? Aiako glanced over at Itachi. He snapped out of his day dream and yelled at himself mentally again.

"Will you help me take her to my medical office?" she asked. He nodded and picked up Yue, letting her rest on his back (so, basically, he was carrying her piggy-backed).

-------------

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

_"I'm sorry, are you family?"_

_Beep!_

_"Yes. We're her brothers."_

_Beep! Beep!_

_"I wasn't aware that Ms. Ibaro had any family besides Takara-san."_

_Bee-!_

_"Well, she does, so let us in!"_

_Beep!_

_"Calm down, Sasuke."_

_"I'm not going to calm down just because you asked me to!"_

_Beep!_

_"I didn't ask you to, I told you to!"_

Mitsu wished the annoying beeping of the heart monitor would just stop while she listened to the conversation in the hall from the hospital room. Then again, if it stopped, her best friend would be in so much trouble. She had been sitting next to Yue for over three hours now and Takara was asleep on a chair on the other side of the bed. Kaida had come with Mitsu, but then left half an hour after. Ten minutes after that, Yuiichi-sensei had come barging in with Momoko-san. The blonde thirteen-year-old heard the knob turn and gripped her kunai knife tightly. She didn't care if it had taken her five times to pass her graduation test from the Academy, she'd take anyone down who dared try to come near her friend. The door opened and in stepped Sasuke and Itachi (with Kiko on his shoulder), the younger one with the ghost of a sad face. Mitsu watched him warily, her grip on the knife not loosening. An A-rank attack? She wondered if he was capable of an S-rank. Sasuke stopped at the sight of the oxygen mask over Yue's face.

"Was it that bad?" he whispered to himself. Kiko worriedly jumped onto the bed and squeaked, nudging Yue's forehead with a little, fuzzy, brown paw. nItachi side-glared at his little brother, as if to say, "What do you think, you idiot?"

She didn't want to think what she did, but Mitsu coiuldn't help but mentally scream at Sasuke. _"This is all your fault! I wish you had never come her! If you hadn't, you would never have hurt Yue like that! This is all! YOUR!_ _**FAULT!**"_

She glared at the kunai in her hand. Then, she remembered something.

"Itachi," she muttered, "What... What happened to Yue that... that you didn't have time to tell us before?"

"..."

"Answer her, dammit!" Sasuke yelled.

"I will tell you what had happened," Itachi said quietly, his black eyes on the ground, staring coldly, "But only because... I owe Ms. Yusuki that much." Mitsu gave a slight jerk of her head, signifying that he could go on.

"Ms. Yusuki had come home from the Academy without Sasuke. She told me he was still working with his shuriken technique. I wasn't saying anything- I had already killed our family. I heard her walk into our parents' room to say goodnight, then she screamed. She ran back to me, terrified."

_"I-itachi-san! M-mommy and Daddy are.. are... "_

"She started sobbing and I walked back into the courtyard with her clinging to me. She didn't notice the katana on my back, or the Mangekyo Sharingan. I pulled her off and took the katana out of its sheathe."

_"Please forgive me... Yue-chan..."_

"I took the hilt of the katana and hit her on the back of the head, knocking her out. I asked an acqaintance of mine from Iwagakure to take her to another village. Konohagakure was weak; I didn't want her to spend her entire childhood there. I wanted her to be strong, and she couldn't get that with Sasuke around. He'd protect her, stop her from even becoming a shinobi. Before my acquaintance took her, I tied her hair back with my favorite white ribbon."

Sasuke noticed that Itachi was indeed wearing a ribbon that was different to his old one: The new one was dark red.

"I was, until six months later, unaware of her whereabouts. My acquaintance told me she couldn't remember anything. I left Sasuke where he was, but not without torturing him with my Mangekyo Sharingan. I left him with words that I hoped would've made him stronger, but, apparently... They didn't."

"HEY!"

"What? It's true? You're a weak little brat. Ms. Yusuki's tougher than you are..." Itachi laughed to himself and muttered, "Even if you are ten minutes older... Not to mention taller..."

Sasuke fumed quietly. Yue was not stronger than him! Okay, so she was kicking his ass earlier, but she didn't win! So too bad! (A/N: Aww, poor Sasuke! He's mad! Ha ha! I laugh at his mental fuming!). Mitsu couldn't believe what she just heard and let her mouth hanging open. Itachi... The Itachi she had known for years, the one she had trusted, had _killed his family_! She couldn't believe this... What would she tell Yue? The truth? She'd almost die again if she heard the truth! Kiko curled up in a ball by his mistress's head with his eyes shut. The three shinobi didn't know it, but Takara was awake and had heard the whole story and that Shibuki and Aiako had been right outside the door, eavesdropping. What none of them expected was that Yuiichi had been listening while hiding in a tree and no one would have expected that he'd ever have come crashing through the window.

* * *

WolfMoonSinger: Ha! This chapter actually came out longer! WEWT!

Actually a soccer ball, but to the Naruto world, it's a football!


	6. Past Dreams

WolfMoonSinger: Okay, this chapter goes a little more in-depth with the family relations between Sasuke, Yue and everyone else. Oh, and if it seems a little weird that Yue was just passed out last chapter, well, she's "dreaming." Oh, and the little girl will be appearing a lot, so we'll refer to her as "Yue" and the older Yue as "Yusuki"! Oh, and, Mitsy... SHUT UP! I'M WORKIN' ON IT!

* * *

Yusuki found herself in the middle of a pathway in the midst of a large compound. In front of her, singing, was the little, brown-haired girl. She looked happy, even though she was all alone. Curious, Yue followed her, absentmindedly humming the song: Promise. The kid turned a corner and into a courtyard. The grass everywhere was singed, and there was a young Sasuke with his dad. Sasuke was attempting The Great Fireball Technique, but wasn't succeeding too well. Yusuki sighed while leaning against a wall watching the poor kid and his father's cold disapointment in him. Yue stopped singing and looked at Fugaku (Sasuke's dad) sadly. He glanced at her just as she looked away, thinking. The man said nothing, he just only turned to Sasuke.

"Again, Sasuke!" he commanded.

"Hai," he said soflty, nodding. A woman's voice called out to the girl.

"Yue-chan! Come here!" Yue looked in the direction of the voice.

"Coming, Uruchi-oba-san" she called. She looked over at Sasuke, who had finally noticed her standing there. "See ya, Kay-chan!" she called.

The boy smiled and waved at her as she ran off into another part of the compound. Yusuki followed the kid into a shop. The sign at the front said "Uchiha Senbeiya**(1)**", and inside, two women were cooking and preparing food. The one was young-looking and black-haired with a sweet, gentle face. Ironically enough, she looked just like Itachi... if he had a sweet and gentle face, that is, and if she had brown hair and silver eyes, Yusuki would be her spitting image. The other woman had grey hair tied up in a bun and a kind look to her. She looked over at the little girl.

"Hello, Yusuki-chan!" she greeted.

"Konichiwa, oba-san**(2)**, oka-san**(3)**!" she said brightly, "Do you need help with something?"

"Could you help put the sweet rice crackers on the stand?" the raven-haired woman asked.

"Hai**(4)**, oka-san!" both Yusukis said at the same time, though in completely different tones.

The older one felt some sort of sadness inside of her, watching the happy little girl, and yearning to "go back to that life" as her mind thought. Wait, what was she thinking? This was never her life... was it? The kid looked like her, the adults in this "dream" seemed familiar, but was it really her life? Yusuki could only remember to when she was eight years old and waking up in Takara's house. Then, she remembered Takara, how she assumed that he was her father just because he knew her name and had that warm, familiar smile, and how happy she was right now! That is, until Sasuke and his team came along... Until that happened, everything in her life had been perfect.

As people passed by the small shop, they smiled and said hello, first to Mikoto (the black-haired woman), then to Uruchi and finally, they greeted little Yue, who smiled back at them and said, "Konichiwa, _-san!" Mikoto finished up with the day's supply of sweet rice crackers and leaned on the counter next to her daughter.

"Did you have fun at Hinata-chan's?" she asked. Uruchi looked back.

"Ah, Hinata-chan?" she asked, "How is she doing?"

"She's doing great, oba-san!" Yue chirped, "And we had a great time!"

Again, another familiar name. Hinata. A surname came to Yusuki's mind, so she got the name Hyuga Hinata. A strong anger swelled inside her stomach, still thinking of Sasuke. It was all his fault. She just wanted him and his squad to go away so her life with her dad would go back to normal, but then a small flame flickered inside of her stomach, making her want to stay here.

"Yue," Mikoto said, "Would you go see if Sasuke is done training?"

"Hai!" she chirped, and she ran off for that courtyard she had entered through, and Sasuke was still going at it. "Sumimasen**(5)**, oto-san**(6)**, oka-san would like to see Sasuke-nii." Sasuke looked gratefully at Yue, then looked at his father.

"...That will be all for today," Fugaku replied after a moment's thought. Sasuke turned his attention back to Yue and flashed her a small smile.

When they turned the corner, he whispered, "Arigato, nee-chan!" Yue giggled.

"No problem, Sasuke-nii," she said, smiling, "You're getting better at The Great Fireball Technique." Sasuke glared bitterly at the ground.

"Not as good as nii-san," he mumbled.

"Quit comparing yourself to him," Yue said, "He's our older brother, he's going to be better." (A/N: Well, ain't she encouraging?)

"Yeah, thanks!" Sasuke shouted sarcastically. His sister grinned.

"That's what I'm here for nii-san!" she laughed. Yusuki chuckled quietly at the two siblings, but her smile quickly turned into a pained grimace. She actually found herself yearning for that filial bond with that… that…

She couldn't even think of a word for him, she was so pissed off.

Shaking her head, Yusuki turned and ran away as fast as she could.

* * *

**(1) **Uchiha Senybeiya: Translated into the "Uchiha Sweet Rice Crackers Shop."

**(2) **Oba-san: Translated into "Aunt" (*Uruchi-obasan: Aunt Uruchi)

**(3) **Oka-san: Translated into "Mother."

**(4) **Hai: Translated into "Yes," for anyone that doesn't know.

**(5) **Sumimasen: Trasnlated into "Excuse me" or "I'm sorry"

**(6) **Oto-san: Translated into "Father"

Next chapter, we're back to the real world!


	7. Truth

Takara jumped up from his sitting postion, holding a snarling Yuiichi back, while Aiako and Shibuki burst into the room. The redhead was yelling something incoherent at Itachi, who had pulled out a kunai.

"Ho-ly shit, Yuiichi!" Takara yelled.

"Dammit! Let me go!" he snapped at Takara, "I'm gonna kill 'im!"

"Calm down, Yuiichi!" Aiako yelled.

_"Uchiha Itachi," _Takara thought, staring at the prodigy, "_I thought that name sounded familiar. A top member in the Akatsuki... But why didn't anyone realize who he was years ago?"_

"Uchiha Itachi," Shibuki said, "I wouldn't have recognized you without the cloak, ring or Sharingan."

"That was the point, dumbass!" Yuiichi and Sasuke yelled in unison. Mitsu put a hand over her eyes. She was dealing with morons.

The fact that there were threats all around had awakened her... well, _intelligent _side. This version of her wasn't as terrible a ninja as the hyper, spunky blonde that everyone knew and loved; This was the Ryu Mitsu who had actually passed the Chuunin Exams a year ago with her other two teammates. She looked back to Itachi. There was something new to her in his eyes... A cold look, like he couldn't care less about those around him. Was this the real Itachi? Real or not... He tried anything, and he'd be up against a very angry Ryu Mitsu. Sasuke turned to face Mitsu.

"See why you should hate him?" he asked her.

Mitsu said nothing, but felt her muscles contract and she, again, tightened her grip on the kunai. Not just her knuckles, but her whole hand was turning white from clutching the knife so tightly. However, she hadn't been paying attention to what else was said.

She blankly stared at him. "Still not quite understanding why Yuiichi flew through the window, no," she muttered at him.

Sasuke heaved an exasperated sigh, and Shibuki growled, "He's here to steal the Hero Water. That's why he's been in disguise all these years."

"You've been collecting information, haven't you?" Yuiichi yelled. Itachi laughed coldly.

"Oh, please," he remarked, "I wouldn't waste so much time just to break into a vault, no matter how heavily guarded it was." He stopped laughing, but his eyes were still cold, and the smile still played on his lips. "Stealing the water was never my intention. She was." He gestured a hand towards his sister. "I think I'll be leaving now, though."

Itachi walked for the door, shoving Shibuki and Aiako to the side. He stopped for a moment and looked back at Yue.

"_I'm sorry,"_ he whispered, "_Yue..."_

Yuiichi broke free of his teammate, jumping over Yue, Mitsu and Sasuke and landing behind Itachi, but before he could do anything, the young man had simply walked out and into the hall. Takara grabbed the usually hyper man by the arm and started talking to him sharply.

_(KAIDA AND MITSU'S COMMENTARY)_

"Ha! Shibuki being sharp? Wow, that's new!"

"Kaida, quit bashing Shibuki-sama!"

"Stuff it, Mitsu, you bleeding heart!"

"HEY! THAT'S NOT VERY NICE!

"...Hn... Like I give a care..."

"Again... HEY! THAT'S NOT VERY NICE!"

"What, would you prefer 'Tree Hugger'?"

"SURE!"

With that, Mitsu found the closest tree and hugged it.

"Moron..." Kaida muttered. Mitsu didn't pay any attention to this last comment, but continued hugging the tree (A/N: Doncha just feel sorry for the poor tree? Just kidding, sorry, Mitsy!).

_(TO THE STORY)_

"Stop it, Yuiichi," Takara murmured softly, "Neither of you have any proof that he's been trying to rob our village, and whatever he did back in Konoha is their problem, not ours. Leave it be. He's just been visiting my daughter."

Sasuke flinched at his last two words, which Takara noticed.

"Yes, Sasuke," he firmly stated, "She's my daughter. It's not up to you who her family is, so stop acting like a child." (Kaida: But he _is _a child! Mistu: HUSH. We're getting to a serious part for ME!)

Yue's blonde teammate was less than interested in the ensuing argument, so she leaped out of the broken window, landing perfectly with one hand gently to the ground. Kaida was waiting for her.

"What news?" she asked seriously, taking in Mitsu's new expression.

"She'll live," the latter replied easily, "But…" She glanced behind her at the hospital's front doors. Itachi had calmly, coolly exited, trying to look superior with his long, collected strides. Mitsu looked back to Kaida. "I have some business to take care of."

Kaida nodded and brushed past, pushing open the swinging door of the hospital. Mitsu, on the other hand, blurred into the trees, and started following Itachi.

He was still walking along easily, so all she had to really do was make herself invisible. Anything less and Itachi would be sure to spot her. In her heightened state of intelligence, she was much more careful not to make any noise that he might notice. So, on they went, and he lead her through the forest, opposite of the waterfall entrance to the village. The squirrelfoxes lounging about in the trees looked up at the sudden breeze she created by leaping by, but they wouldn't give her away. She wasn't important enough to the cares of furry little woodland creatures.

Itachi lead Mitsu to a clearing in the wood, thickly guarded by brambles, and he stopped, still facing forward.

"You can come out, now," he called out, "I know you've been following me, Mitsu."

She smirked and lighted down gracefully from the tree (Mitsu: YES! Score one for me and my gracefulness!). He turned to face her just as she shimmered into view, and that haughty, but slightly sad smirk was still there on his lips.

"What is it you wanted to know," he asked gently, "That you couldn't bring up in front of your adults?"

Mitsu's green eyes hardened. She answered, "I wanted to know why you _really_ came here this time. Something seems different."

Itachi thought about it for a moment, as if trying to decide his answer carefully, weighing the options in his mind. "Well…" he said slowly, "You'd be right about that. This isn't just a normal visit."

"Did you know Sasuke would be here?"

They stared each other down, cold towards each other for the first time in Mitsu's case. She couldn't know if Itachi had just been affecting a warm demeanor before. So far, he'd been a good actor. He breathed very slowly in, but not out. Not until it all escaped on one word.

"Yes."

* * *

WolfMoonSinger: OHMYGAWD UPDATE. WOW. xD Cliffhanger, not much to say. I just saw these last two chapters collecting dust on my old PC, so I decided what the hell… and my friend said she'd read the fic aloud on her livestream as part of her "Bad fanfiction" segment. YES! :D


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